Isah Ismaila Gagarawa
When Rule of Law is mentioned, be it on the pages of newspapers, in law courts especially in arguments by lawyers to buttress their points, what readily comes to mind is justice, equity and fair-play.
In that regard there is every reason for us to distinguish between religious perspectives and human angle approach to analyzing issues in our country Nigeria. When there is clamor for the availability of equal opportunities for the development of citizens in society, we shouldn’t look at it from religious lens. It is sad when we forget to look at things from the point of view that we are all humans and we all have a reason to be heard, thereby fulfilling one or some of our needs.
Truth be told, the issue between Kaduna State/Federal government and the Islamic Movement of Nigeria popularly known as Shi’ites should not be looked at from our individual religious ideological positions when tabled in a discussion. This opinion piece is as a result of another, written by Jamila Abubakar which was published on the 17th of July, 2019 in the Daily Trust, where the author clearly dwelt on the detention and uproar for the release of the IMN leader, Sheik Zakzaky, by his followers and other concerned citizens.
However, Zakzaky and his wife, Malama Zeenah, applied to the court seeking for urgent medical attention in India due to their failing health condition. Simultaneously, the “free Zakzaky” campaign committee under the chairmanship of Abdurrahman Abubakar Yola, accused the government for poisoning their leader, while his wife is alleged to be under severe pains of complications deeply lodged in her body since her years of detention.
We don’t necessarily need to believe in his religious ideologies to be humane and accept other to be natural and have right to practice “his religion.” Sheikh Zakzaky from all indications needs medical attention, which I believe the government should do all it can to ensure he is released for medical treatment.
It is surprising that Jamila’s’ perception to his release for medical attention is that “there could be genuine concerns that he could do an Nnamdi Kanu style where he bolted away after pressure to get him bail and resurface on the shores of another country and resumed his trouble”. Is that so?
God forbid! What if he is not granted bail and he eventually dies in custody? What will be the reaction of his followers? Do you think they would believe he died of a natural death? Well, we should learn lessons from history like that of Muhamad Yusuf’s (the Boko Haram leader) who was killed. Look at what Boko Haram has metamorphosed into. I am not saying they will transform into Boko Haram now known as The Islamic State in West Africa (ISWA). Are we ready for another unending conflict in the country?
If the court has ordered the release of Zakzaky or Dasuki and the federal government is adamant, is that respect for the rule of law? When the government doesn’t respect law, how then do we expect the followers of Zakzaky to respect the people responsible for his detention? The big question now is who are the law-abiding citizens? The government or Shi’ites?
It is unreasonable to assume that the Federal and Kaduna State governments have good reasons for defying all these pressures from their followers and concerned persons when there are no reasons readily available for public consumption for his denial to bail. If there are sensitivities attached to his release, the government should then give proper medical treatment to him. In fact, it is not an exaggeration that he needs medical attention as he has lost an eye and his wife is glued to a wheelchair.
Respect for rule of law is necessary for any government to be successful in carrying out its affairs. If this administration runs strictly in accordance with law, then I see no reason why there shouldn’t be a respect for rule of law from top to bottom. Anything contrary to this is a misnomer. It is also pertinent that the government do something about this issue. We are afraid of chaos in the polity. There can be a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the sect, regarding their dealings.
Only God knows what the outcome will be if the matter is handled with negligence. For peaceful coexistence and posterity of our dear nation, that is already clamoring for peace, we should not mar our country with different religious ideological positions. We should realize and accept that we are different in equal ways, and equal in different ways.
Gagarawa writes from Abuja via ibnismail12@gmail.com
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